Euryglossidia, f, australia, side

Euryglossidia species, Pinnochio Euryglossidia, collected in Australia by Laurence PackerThis undescribed species was collected in Western Australia after particularly good winter rains. It has an unusually pointed "nose". No reason for this unusual modification is known. The bee was collected visiting flowers of XXXX , which would seem not to need a sharp object to open them to get at the nectar or pollen. However, bees will often visit different flowers for nectar than pollen, so we cannot be certain it 's "nose" is not a foraging adaptation. Another possibility is that it is used in nesting in some way. As these are cellophane bees that line their brood cells with a plastic-like material, perhaps these bees close the brood cell while they are out foraging to keep out unwanted intruders. They can then use their sharp face to cut open the brood cell. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200. USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.